Christianity has been feminized by shallow-thinking Christians who lionize feminine virtues such as compassion, kindness, patience, and mercy while demonizing equally Christ-like virtues such as boldness, courage, the call for justice, and the willingness to speak unpleasant truth to political power.
Christianity is not the only thing that our cultural eunuchs are feminizing. A Pee-Wee football team has been $500 and had their coach suspended for a week for scoring too many points. Yes, you read that right. They’ve been hammered for being too good.
Eight-year-old Elijah Burrell of Lawrenceville Black Knights intercepted a pass and took it to the house to put his team ahead 38-0. Unfortunately, he plays in a league where it is illegal to get more than 32 points ahead of your opponent. Hence the draconian punishment.
Now there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the mercy rule. When my son played high school and American Legion baseball, the mercy rule went into effect at the end of the 5th inning. If one team was ahead by 10 runs or more, game over. But if a team was ahead 9-0 in the bottom of the 5th, and a batter hit a grand slam, the runs would all count. The final score would be 13-0. The batter, his team, and his coach would not be punished for exceeding the 10-run limit.
That’s not how we do things in America anymore.
So, while there is a basis for the mercy rule, there is no basis in America for punishing success and athletic accomplishment, which is what happened to Elijah’s team and coach. The Apostle Paul, for example, talked repeatedly about running the race to win and competing vigorously in order to win the prize. Success and accomplishment is something we recognize and celebrate in a culture shaped by Judeo-Christian values.
Part of growing to manhood is learning that effort and success is something we reward, not punish, in a Christian nation. On the other side of the coin, there is something to be learned through adversity and defeat. They strengthen character and provide opportunities to develop resolve and determination.
Instead of being suspended and punished, perhaps the smart thing to do is ask this coach to hold coaching clinics for the rest of the coaches in his league. The solution is to lift them up, not to bring him down.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
